Just a Minute
by BT Sing
Summary: Short bits of time add up to a big bunch of confusion and trouble for Naruto and Sakura. NaruSaku based after events in my other NaruSaku fic, Morning, Noon, and Night
1. With Naruto

**A/N: Just a bunch a short drabbles based directly after the end of my other short NaruSaku piece "Morning, Noon, and Night". Similar kind of theme - time - though in this case, each chapter represents a minute of the day (hence the title). Enjoy...**

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**WITH NARUTO**

He could still taste her. It wasn't any flavor he could remember, but now he'd never forget hers. His lips still burned from their intense kiss. Though it felt like the numbness had worn off, Naruto still felt a little out of it. She had actually kissed him. He had actually kissed her. He couldn't help smacking himself across the face a few times. Only in his dreams did something like that happen; no one would hold a bit of disbelieve against him. When the pain subsided, Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I really kissed Sakura-chan," the blonde mumbled, a smile creeping back across his face. "I kissed Sakura-chan!"

Oblivious to the stares of several shinobi passing by, the young Jounin proudly strutted down the streets of the village as he headed back to his apartment. Then realization set in.

"That was my first kiss…" Naruto said slowly, his whiskered cheeks growing red.

Suddenly embarrassed, the usually loud and confident Uzumaki Naruto quickly and quietly dashed home. Not two feet away, a visibly stunned Yamanaka Ino braced herself against the side of a nearby building.

"They kissed?!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing down through the street.


	2. With Ino

**A/N: For those who haven't read my other ficlet that precedes this, the story takes place 2 years or so later than the current manga (and assumes Sasuke comes back alive and redeemed). **

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**WITH INO**

"I can't believe she kissed Naruto!" Ino shouted, drawing a few more awkward glances. "She didn't say anything about liking him."

Ino angrily thought back to all the conversations she and Sakura had been in over the past few weeks and not once could she remember her mentioning anything about liking Naruto. Not once. Heck, it seemed like spent more time complaining about him than saying anything complimentary.

"It must be a mistake," she said assuredly to herself.

That had to be it. Maybe Naruto had tricked her somehow. Of course, that was it. He was still the best prankster in Konoha after all.

"Yeah," Ino said, confidently nodding. "That idiot must've used a Henge jutsu to transform into someone else."

Ino's eyes suddenly widened as she pounded an open fist into the palm of the other hand.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried. "Oh no…what if he transformed into Sasuke-kun?"

That was too much, though. Naruto wouldn't do that. She was sure he wasn't that mean.

"And Sakura would kill him," Ino sighed dejectedly.

But how else could he get Sakura to kiss him. It didn't make sense. Stopping suddenly in the middle of the street, she frustratingly rubbed her eyes and pulled a few stray blonde hairs away from obscuring her vision.

"Why?!" she screamed, again creating a scene. "Why would Sakura kiss that loudmouthed idiot?!"

Across the way in the darkened alley, a figure in the shadows turned slightly at Ino's announcement. A second, slightly larger silhouette chuckled to himself, tucking something into the pocket of his jacket as he snuck away from the scene.


	3. With Sakura

**WITH SAKURA**

She couldn't push the scene from her mind. Her and Naruto, joined at the lips for what seemed like hours. And it wasn't the kiss that stuck in her head. Though she had to admit, it was great. Really great. Really, really great. No, the only thing that was truly bothering Haruno Sakura as she lay on her bed early in the evening was the _person_ with whom she shared that kiss.

"Naruto…" Sakura said quietly.

She didn't know what possessed her to kiss him at that moment. And now she was torn as to what she should do next.

"_Go back for seconds,"_ a voice inside her urged.

"I can't do that," Sakura muttered.

"_Why?"_ the voice questioned. "_There's something there, right?"_

"With Naruto?" Sakura responded. "We're just friends. Best friends. He's not…"

"_Cute? Funny? Caring? Honest?"_

"No, er, yes he is, but that doesn't—"

"_Explain why you and he swapped spit?"_

"Shut up! I said I don't know!" Sakura said forcefully, launching her pillow against the wall.

As the bundle of feathers and fabric exploded from the violent impact, Sakura turned over onto her stomach, burying her face into the mattress of her bed.

"_See? There's something there," _her inner voice snickered.

"Shut up," Sakura mumbled, closing her eyes.


	4. With Naruto again

**WITH NARUTO (AGAIN)**

Tossing his trademark black and orange-trimmed jacket on his unmade bed, Naruto collapsed onto the second-hand chair beside the window. He let the cool, calming night air fill is lungs as he took several slow, deep breaths. Staring across the village rooftops from his fourth story apartment, Naruto nervously ran his fingers through his wild and untamed blonde locks. As the shock from receiving his first real kiss, from Sakura off all people, wore off, Naruto found himself freaking out at the repercussions of that act. Frantic, he played back the scene in his head; each play through made the usually cheerful Jounin sweat just a little more. Should he have stopped her? Should he have stopped himself? Wait, hadn't she hesitated? What if he had actually forced it? But, Sakura wouldn't let him do that. She never hesitated to pummel him in the past, so why would she stop now. So that meant that she didn't mind the kiss, right? She didn't _not_ like it right?

"Argh!" Naruto shouted, jumping from his seat in frustration. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Afraid of damaging his already messy home, Naruto leapt out of his window and pulled himself up atop of the building's roof. A familiar face awaited him, smiling mischievously.

"Yo," the white-haired man grinned.

Naruto stumbled. "E-Ero-Sennin?!"


	5. With Naruto and Jiraiya

**WITH NARUTO AND JIRAIYA**

"E-Ero-Sennin?" Naruto repeated. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The Toad Hermit cleared his throat, calmly lowering himself to a seated position on the rooftop. "I heard about your eventful evening, _Romeo_. I thought I might be of some assistance if you needed some expert advice."

"Advice?" Naruto said with a puzzled expression. "What are you going on about?"

"Oh?" Jiraiya grinned. "Come now, there's no need to be embarrassed. A passing flower whispered it into my ear."

"What?" Naruto asked with a puzzled expression.

"One of the young ladies from your class, I believe, announced it to everyone down near the bath houses," the old Sannin clarified.

"Announced what?" Naruto replied, nearly shouting. "And what were you doing at the bath houses this late at night, you perverted old man?"

"Now, now, no need to be embarrassed," Jiraiya chided, deflecting Naruto's question. "Sharing a passionate kiss with the girl you adore is nothing to be ashamed about.

Naruto recoiled in surprise, nearly losing his footing. "H-How did you know about that?"

Jiraiya grinned, pulling a notebook from his coat pocket. "I told you I was there when the announcement was made."

Naruto gulped, pulling nervously at his collar.

"And I took good notes," the Toad Hermit chuckled.


	6. With Jiraiya

**WITH JIRAIYA**

_The Toad Hermit grinned lecherously. Resting his eyes just above the open window, the legendary Sannin had his pen and paper ready to note every detail of his subject's "assets" and potential inspiration for his next book. Just as a trio of young and innocent-looking young women moved into view, a loud whiny voice cried out. Startled, Jiraiya dropped his notebook and the three girls inside the bathhouse changing room hurriedly moved out of sight. Sullen and deflated, the Toad Hermit glanced over towards the street where the girl's shout had come from. As the blonde-haired kunoichi came into focus, Jiraiya and the few other villagers in the area stopped what they were doing as she raised her voice again._

"_Why would Sakura kiss that loudmouth idiot?!" she screamed. _

After recounting the scene, the Sannin watched as Naruto's face flushed white.

"Th-That has to be Ino," Naruto said, lowering his head. "I hope no one else we know heard her shouting like that."

"Don't worry," Jiraiya smiled, rising to his feet. "It was just me…and one of the Aburame clan…a boy about your age…"

Jiraiya brought a hand to his chin as he thought back.

"Aburame…" Naruto started. "S-Shino?! Shino heard about the kiss, too? I've got to stop Ino from blabbing to anyone else!"

Before Jiraiya could say anything, Naruto was gone, dashing across rooftops.

"Come to think of it," the old Sannin muttered. "That Nee-chan from the Ramen stand was there too…"


	7. With Shino

**WITH SHINO**

Blanketed in darkness, the young shinobi kept hidden within the shadows beneath the large maple tree. The night air was quiet as he stood waiting, the light from the street lamps reflected in the black-colored lenses of his glasses. Calmly leaning against the wide base of the tree, Aburame Shino made no attempt to welcome the two approaching.

"Yo, Shino!"

"Good evening, Shino-kun."

"Arf!"

The other members of Team 8 greeted him warmly. Kiba, walking beside Akamaru, confidently smiled. Hinata waved briefly before glancing away. Shino slowly pushed his body away from the tree trunk, nodding as his teammates came closer.

"What's going on, Shino?" Kiba asked with a yawn. "Ready to get going or what? Akamaru and I got stuff to do back home after we meet with Kurenai-sensei."

Shino acknowledged Kiba with a nod.

"Are you sure we should bother her, Kiba-kun?" Hinata questioned. "It seems rather late…"

"Late?" Kiba echoed, laughing for a moment. "It's not even ten. You need to get out more, Hinata."

Hinata blushed slightly. "I-I didn't mean it like that. I just think it seems late to interrupt Kurenai-sensei. What if she has other plans?"

Kiba shrugged. "Yeah…maybe. What do you think, Shino?"

Shino looked over, meeting Kiba's awaiting eyes.

"It's weird."

Kiba and Hinata exchanged puzzled glances.

"What's weird?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto and Sakura," Shino replied calmly.

"N-Naruto-kun and Sakura-san?" Hinata repeated.

"What about them?" Kiba sighed, crossing his arms.

"They kissed," Shino finished.

"Eh?!" Kiba shouted.

Hinata was speechless.


	8. With Shikamaru

**WITH SHIKAMARU**

Shikamaru was speechless. Not because he didn't know what to say; rather, he found himself unable to get a word in to interrupt his talkative teammate as she rambled on and on about what she'd heard earlier that night.

"Can you believe it?" Ino asked. "We've been friends since we were kids. Why wouldn't she tell me something this important? It doesn't make sense, right? You think so, too, right?"

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Ino, I really think you should—"

"Talk to Sakura, right?" Ino interrupted. "I know, I know. But why I should I talk to her about it if she couldn't come and talk to me about it. I mean, she was the first person I told when I decided to confess to—"

Ino stopped herself suddenly, drawing a raised eyebrow from her lazy Jounin teammate. Removing a pack of cigarettes from his vest pocket, Shikamaru tapped the near-empty container against his palm until one of the sticks fell far enough out for him to grab it between his lips.

"Look, Ino," he again sighed, digging around in his front packet for a match. "Why do you care so much? What Naruto and Sakura do isn't any of my business, so I don't see why it's any of yours. And frankly, I think it's too troublesome to get involved with the personal matters of other shinobi."

Finally securing the match, Shikamaru struck the head against the shuriken holster around his thigh. As he brought the flame up to the tip of the cigarette in his mouth, Ino defiantly yanked it from his lips and tossed it to the ground.

"What are you talking about? You're supposed to tell your best friends everything," she scowled. "And those things will kill you, you know!"

Turning her head up, Ino huffily marched away.

"Like I said," Shikamaru muttered as he plucked the last cigarette from his pack. "Troublesome."


End file.
